Poll: Which one has the more difficult job?

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Thread: Admiral or General?

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  1. #1
    Coffee farmer extraordinaire Member spmetla's Avatar
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    Default AW: Admiral or General?

    I voted neither. Both jobs entail a lot of responsibility but that responsibility is also passed down to subordinates. While both are responsible for vast amounts of equipment and men they do so through a chain of command which should mean that they are operating through a manageable number of people.

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  2. #2
    Ezio's apprentice Member Tabuu's Avatar
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    Default Re: AW: Admiral or General?

    So did I. Neither is a good choice if you're taking too long. (Or if you start thinking, "Gah!") Otherwise you have to make a choice. Mine was neither. "Gah!" was good choice!
    "Please continue with your threats; I would hate to submit to implication alone." -Cicero.

  3. #3
    Banned ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88's Avatar
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    Default Re: AW: Admiral or General?

    Admiral, because it is harder to keep contact with the captains of the ships once the battle begins.

  4. #4

    Default Re: AW: Admiral or General?

    I think logistics is a far more complex and difficult problem for the general. The ship carries its own supplies and depends on either ports or supply vessels to replenish them. On land, however, carrying supplies requires carts/wagons/trucks/etc., that is, you have to bring extra stuff along simply to allow you to take extra stuff along. A ship, on the other hand, is its own container, and will not be slowed down by its supplies. Nor does it have to stop in order to rest its men, or spend a lot of energy setting up camp. And weather will far more significantly hamper movement on land than on sea, especially when considering the ocean has but one terrain (water) whereas on land you have all sorts. Hills, forests, valleys, mountains, rivers, swamps, etc. etc. And it is also arguably easier to have one's supply lines cut on land than by sea, at any rate.
    Last edited by Karl08; 07-04-2010 at 22:31.

  5. #5
    Member Member Audacia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Admiral or General?

    Modern era=General

    With the lack of radio communication in the 18th and 19th centuries however, I might lean Admiral

  6. #6

    Default Re: Admiral or General?

    went with neither. todays theater commanders come from the ranks of any of the eligible services, including the coast guard (speaking for U.S.)
    the logistic, personnel, and political considerations for any of the branches is so considerable that (for the most part) only extremely compitent leaders emerge at the top.

    historically without doubt the most difficult was ADMIRAL - for evidence let's look back at the discussion on empires. It took a great deal of determination to make an overseas occupation succeed in the past, few countries made it happen for an extended period of time. We can look at most any country and find "great" generals, only in a select few are their admirals successful enough to get equivelant press.
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  7. #7
    Praefectus Fabrum Senior Member Anime BlackJack Champion, Flash Poker Champion, Word Up Champion, Shape Game Champion, Snake Shooter Champion, Fishwater Challenge Champion, Rocket Racer MX Champion, Jukebox Hero Champion, My House Is Bigger Than Your House Champion, Funky Pong Champion, Cutie Quake Champion, Fling The Cow Champion, Tiger Punch Champion, Virus Champion, Solitaire Champion, Worm Race Champion, Rope Walker Champion, Penguin Pass Champion, Skate Park Champion, Watch Out Champion, Lawn Pac Champion, Weapons Of Mass Destruction Champion, Skate Boarder Champion, Lane Bowling Champion, Bugz Champion, Makai Grand Prix 2 Champion, White Van Man Champion, Parachute Panic Champion, BlackJack Champion, Stans Ski Jumping Champion, Smaugs Treasure Champion, Sofa Longjump Champion Seamus Fermanagh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Admiral or General?

    While both are challenging, I think that the difficulty of naval construction as compared to mustering troops makes the admiral's task one involving higher risk.

    I remember Churchill writing about Jellicoe that Jellicoe was "the only person on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon."
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  8. #8

    Default Re: Admiral or General?

    Quote Originally Posted by The Lurker Below View Post
    went with neither. todays theater commanders come from the ranks of any of the eligible services, including the coast guard (speaking for U.S.)
    the logistic, personnel, and political considerations for any of the branches is so considerable that (for the most part) only extremely compitent leaders emerge at the top.

    historically without doubt the most difficult was ADMIRAL - for evidence let's look back at the discussion on empires. It took a great deal of determination to make an overseas occupation succeed in the past, few countries made it happen for an extended period of time. We can look at most any country and find "great" generals, only in a select few are their admirals successful enough to get equivelant press.
    The reason overseas occupations are difficult is because the logistics on LAND is difficult. The sea-bit's the easy bit.

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